Alaa Farouk makes a pioneering success story in Agriculture Bank of Egypt

A pioneering success experience made in the wake of a difficult period in the global economy in general, and Egypt in particular, as the coronavirus pandemic was declared as a global pandemic in early 2020, making it of a special model, led by one of the most prominent Egyptian bankers. It's Alaa Farouk's journey with the Agriculture Bank of Egypt.

Since taking over the leadership of the Bank in February 2020, Farouk has undergone the largest development and structuring process in his history, keeping pace with the accelerated development in the Egyptian and international banking sector, enabling him to lead the locomotive of economic development, to keep pace with the accelerated economic transformations witnessed by Egypt.

In the aftermath, He pursued an ambitious vision of making the Bank a sophisticated development banking institution specializing in providing its banking and financing services to meet the needs of its customers and exercising its important developmental role in funding agricultural projects and related industrial activities and stimulating investment in the agricultural sector in all its productive fields.

It also sought to promote and consolidate the concept of financial inclusion of individuals as one of the fundamental pillars of economic development and financial and social stability.

The policies of Farouk have resulted in a significant development in the Bank's financial indicators, which is clearly reflected in the developments that the governorate witnessed. The deposit portfolio jumped by 170% to surpass the 170 billion pound barrier by the end of September 2023, after it was 63 billion pounds by the end of March 2020, with an increase of 107 billion pounds.

The credit portfolio of the Agricultural Bank of Egypt also jumped by 115%, exceeding 73 billion pounds by the end of Q3- 2023, compared to 34 billion pounds by the end of February 2020, with an increase of 39 billion pounds

It is worth mentioning that this increase was not a product of chance, but driven by many elements, notably the substantial support provided by the Central Bank of Egypt to the Bank, as well as the development strategy adopted by the Agricultural Bank Egypt to develop and restructure all its sectors, as well as the new credit policies approved to link financing to production and serious projects.

hence; The Bank has successfully strengthened its important role in financing agricultural projects and related industrial activities and stimulating investment in the agricultural sector in all its productive areas in order to achieve the country's vision of maximizing the productivity and value added of the agricultural sector in Egypt to increase the volume of agricultural and animal production to fill the food gap and achieve food security for citizens. As well as supporting productive sectors by expanding financing for large, medium and small enterprises.

Farouk has not neglected environmental sectors, but has also expanded its support for renewable energy projects, granting funding of more than 100 million pounds to about 343 customers, as well as encouraging customers to transform modern irrigation systems by providing funding of more than 1.4 billion pounds to about 573 thousand acres.

In addition, he took accelerated steps to implement the Bank's Digital Transformation Plan, digitization of all its services and achievement of the national objectives of financial inclusion through the deployment of payment and electronic collection systems in the agricultural sector and the Egyptian countryside, as well as the launch of a range of digital products and smart applications that meet the needs of its customers to use digital banking services and find alternative payment channels.

His main efforts were the establishment of e-branches in cooperation with e-Finance, where e-branches or e-service centers offer a range of banking services that allow the customer to benefit from a range of banking services 24 hours a day and away from the official working hours of the branches, and also the launch of a phone platform of the bank in March.

It also made it possible to provide agricultural production loans fully electronically through the digital agricultural platform "AGRI MISR" in cooperation with eSouq, and also launched smart bank cards in cooperation with the Central Bank, eFinance and the National Council of Women.

Meanwhile, Farouk established a project to develop and modernize the Data Center at the Bank's main center. The Bank has an integrated technology system according to the latest international standards that meets its operational needs and meets the needs of its customers in keeping with the latest methods of banking, and ensures its ability to expand services, digital products and future updates in the Bank's business with the highest quality and security standards.

Alaa Farouk aspires to lead the Agricultural Bank of Egypt to achieve further progress. He works to expand the Bank's financing of small, medium and micro enterprises through concessional financing programmes to create jobs and achieve economic empowerment for all groups to raise the standard of living and increase income rates.

He also works to make the Bank achieve financial inclusion by organizing public conferences for financial education and awareness of banking services to enhance the banking awareness of peasants and villagers, in the presence of governors, parliamentarians, senators, executive and public leaders in the governorates, and launching awareness caravans that roam the villages of a decent life to raise awareness of the Bank's programmes, financing and banking services to stimulate rural people to work and produce.